Bond actor Christoph Waltz blasts Brexit as ‘breathtakingly stupid’

Bond actor Christoph Waltz has slammed Britain’s decision to leave the European Union as “breathtakingly stupid”.

The Austrian-German star, who played Blofeld in the James Bond movie Spectre, said he believed the British people had been misled before the referendum.

“I find it insanity, and breathtakingly stupid and it’s really, instead of trying to enlighten and educate people about the advantages, they invest disadvantages that don’t even exist and have no shame in just lying,” he told the Press Association.

“Because lying always implies an intention to mislead and that’s what they did.

“Now the people who have been misled have to pay the bill.”

Waltz made the comments while in London to promote his new film The Legend of Tarzan.

Britain is in turmoil this morning, after leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage announced on Monday he would be stepping down as leader of the UK Independence Party.

Mr Farage is the latest in a series of people to resign in the fallout from the referendum, which has also seen Prime Minister David Cameron step down, saying he would leave Britain's exit negotiations to his successor.

In a pointed reference to leadership contender Theresa May, who wanted Britain to stay in the EU, Mr Farage said Britain's next leader should be a "Brexit prime minister".

Ms May, who had been viewed as a frontrunner in the contest, was dealt a double blow on Monday when a poll showed her slightly behind rival Andrea Leadsom in the race, according to a ConservativeHome survey of party members.

Mr Farage has been widely criticised for the move, which follows former mayor of London Boris Johnson dramatically pulling out of a bid to run himself last week.

Manfred Weber, the German head of the centre-right European People's Party in the European Parliament, called Mr Farage a "coward" for quitting.

"Farage is the latest coward to abandon the chaos he is responsible for," he tweeted. "This shows that he has no credibility at all."

Along with the political turmoil, Brexit has been predicted to hit Britain's economy, and the country last week had its credit rating downgraded.